Parental consent form and kid passports?

[Bluenose Sandy]

Just thinking ahead to traveling with child with passport instead of birth certificate... passports don't list the parents' names the way birth certificates do. So when a child travels with a passport, nobody knows who the parents are, right? So does that mean that once everybody's using a passport, we ALL have to get notarized letters stating that both parents consent to the travel, even if the child is traveling with both parents?

 

You see what I'm talking about here, right? Right now, if the birth certificate gives the parents' names and both of those people are traveling with the child, you don't have to worry about presenting a letter BUT if one of the parents isn't with the child, you might be asked to prove that the missing parent knows about the travel and consents. But the passports don't list the parents' names at all. So I'm guessing we might have to provide additional documentation, ie, either the birth certificate with the parents' names, or the notarized letter.

 

Any thoughts? I'm betting that even if we email the State Dept, Justice Dept, and the passport office for info, they just haven't even thought about the issue and we won't get any consistent answer.

[cjh]

All passports have to be signed. Since a child is a minor a parent has to sign theirs.

[Bluenose Sandy]

All passports have to be signed. Since a child is a minor a parent has to sign theirs.

 

Actually this is not true. Parents must sign only for children who are too young to sign their own passports.

 

And even if one parent does sign, that still means that the C&I inspector does not know the name of the other parent... so theoretically, they still would have no way of knowing whether the other parent knows about this specific trip. The exact situation which now sometimes triggers a request for a notarized letter of consent.

[caribbean dreams]

ok, you have a valid point, i'll have to think about this one for awhile.

Call the Cruiseline and see what they tell you, i bet they will be as stumped on the question as we are.

[I&MsMom]

You've all raised valid points...However, we've always traveled with passports for our kids, and it's never been an issue. Not on a cruise, or an international flight. To be honest, I'm not sure how it works, and it is cause for concern. Especially since my passport is in my maiden name.

 

I took the kids (2 and 6 at the time) on a cruise without DH, had a notarized letter with me, but no one asked for it. There I was, Ms. "A", sailing off with "Master and Miss B".

 

I hope there is something obvious I'm overlooking...

[NJcruisemom]

Here it is.....directly from page 1 of the US Passport application.

 

AS DIRECTED BY PUBLIC LAW 106-119:

 

To submit an application for a child under age 14

both parents or the child's legal guardian(s) must appear and present the following:

• Evidence of the child's US citizenship

• Evidence of the child's relationship to parents/guardian(s) AND

• Parental identification

 

IF ONLY ONE PARENT APPEARS YOU MUST SUBMIT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

• Second parent's written statement consenting to passport issuance for the child,

• Primary evidence of sole authority to apply, OR

• A written statement (made under penalty of perjury) explaining the second parent's unavailability.

 

------------------------------------------------------------

 

If your child has a passport......you already have permission for your child to travel.

 

 

NJcmom

[cascole]

Although you need a notarized letter from the absent parent if you travel to some coutries (ie Mexiso) not all require it. The question about how they know WHO the parents are - that goes back to the passport application. All the information is included in the database the state dept maintains when they initially issue the passport.

 

A parent who does not want their child to travel but is not in control if the physical passport can also request the state dept 'flag' the child's passport.

[nybumpkin]

If your child has a passport......you already have permission for your child to travel.

NJcmom

 

Not necessarily. A few years ago, DH took oldest son with him on a business trip to England and Scotland; needless to say, son had a passport. They almost didn't get any farther than Toronto because DH did not have a letter from me giving him permission to travel with son. Customs and Immigration ended up separating son from DH to question him about the trip and why I wasn't travelling ("She's home with my brothers"); along with evidence of round-trip tickets, the explanation apparently was enough to allow them to go ahead. It would have been easier (not to mention less traumatic for a 10 year-old) to have had the letter.

[Bluenose Sandy]

Still musing on this... guess I like to do my worrying in advance.

 

The trouble with relying on the fact that the parents' names are in some US government database (because of the passport application) is that, in many cases, it's not the US customs and immigration folks who are checking your documents.

 

For example, in the case of Mexico, the Mexican C&I people want to see proof that the child has permission from the non-traveling parent to enter Mexico... those Mexican officials do not have access to a US gov't database. So I'm imagining that they might want to see either a notarized letter of consent (as they sometimes do now when a child is traveling with just one adult) OR a birth certificate with the parents' names on it to prove that the child is traveling with both parents. So we MIGHT need both passport and birth certificate.

 

And sometimes, the cruise line has been known to ask for the notarized letter before boarding, when a child is not traveling with both parents. They obviously do this because they are worried about trouble with C&I, but if the cruise line checks your documents, they don't have access to any C&I database. Again, how to prove, with only a passport, that the child is traveling with both parents?

 

Oh well. I can tell you one thing, I'm going to bring both my daughter's passport and birth certificate just in case.

[rgnok]

If your child has a passport......you already have permission for your child to travel.

NJcmom

 

Not true at all. All that might means is you HAD permission at the time the child applied for a passport (and even that is not actually true, since many people get a passport without any specific travel planned).

 

Since the passport will be good for 5 or 10 years, plenty could change from the time of the passport application that might cause one parent to no longer want the other parent taking his/her child out of the country (divorce!).

 

I can't answer to OPs question, but to say a passport equals permission to travel is just not true.

[Onessa]

DD, now 10, has only ever travelled out of the country with passport and both parents. Her last name, my last name, DH's last name are all the same. We go to the podium at the immigration point as a "family" - and thus have no issues.

 

What I believe we are discussing here is when a child's last name does not match both parents' last names?

 

I know a few things are fact - if a group goes to the immigration station at a country, the assumption is that they are a family. The agent is looking for Mom, Dad, kids, when there are kids involved. If there is only mom or only dad, or two moms, or two dads - they will be more likely to ask some questions and delve a bit deeper. They have certain factors that they will further investigate - my cousin's family always takes longer because Mom is a naturalized citizen, my friend's family tend to talke longer since they have a "United Nations" blended family with adoptees from South America, Korea, and India.

 

They also have a "random" factor that, randomly families (or individuals) will be more closely scrutenized.

 

If you are in a group that is not "typical" or happen to be one of those randomly selected families - be prepared to answer questions, and provide documentation to "prove" your situation.

[Bluenose Sandy]

Thanks, Onessa! You've helped me put my finger on my unease... we are now and will be "profiled" because in my family of 3, all of us were born in different countries, and right away, that seems to pique the interest of C&I in both the US and Canada, so far the only countries we've entered with our daughter. So I'll be bringing the birth certificate even when DD's passport comes through.

[lillabella]

My daughter has been traveling with a passport for the past 5 years (she is now 11) - she has traveled internationally with both parents, only one parent, and neither parent. We have never been asked for any other documentation. In fact she spent 2 weeks traveling in Europe (4 countries) last summer with 50 other 5th & 6th graders along with 4 adult chaperones and no further documentation was required. We did not send along a "permission slip" or any notarized documentation allowing her to travel.

 

But, the best thing to do if you are worried is to cover all your bases - the only way it can hurt you to have all 3 documents on your person (passport, birth certificate, notarized letter) is if they are lost or stolen.